[REALMS] How would you handle this?

[Drakron]

Player have the habbit of doing what DMs dont expect then to do.

Turing into Try church is a bad idea, Tyr is not "all seeing" (his clerics even less) and as servents of justice they sould have no problems in turing the party to the guards so they stand trial, since they ESCAPE from prision and worst, they attacked the guard.

Worst was that the ones that DID turn in, later escaped so its would be wise to run away as far as they can.

 

[Darrin Drader]

Killing those guards was a pretty bad idea. There's only one thing to do now - join the Zhentarim!

 

[Angcuru]

Well.....it all really depends on what the situation was when the ranger killed the guards. Did he have to kill them in self defense; or did he cut their throats from behind the bars of his cell with the dagger they didn't see in his boot? Still, were I him I would have whipped out an entangle spell and ran for it.

Join the Zhentarim? What are you, MAD?!

 

[daTim]

But your Honor, I'm innocent, thats why I killed the police men for trying to bring me in! That always flies with the judges. I dont think the Ranger had any right to kill those guards, they were just doing their job. Did he even try to knock them unconcious? bribe them? just run away? They should probly just never go back to the city... either that or kill everyone connected with the murders Dead men tell no tales!

 

[nHammer]

Here's a question...

How did the guards approach the Ranger? Did they identify themselves? or did they just jump him?

 

[Bard Lucian]

The guards approached him very politely, and in fact let him keep his sword while they accompanied him to the prison. It was while they were on their way that he decided to change his mind and resist. It was at that point he drew the sword they let him keep.

 

[Numion]

The guards approached him very politely, and in fact let him keep his sword while they accompanied him to the prison. It was while they were on their way that he decided to change his mind and resist. It was at that point he drew the sword they let him keep.

At least he wasn't honorable. And some people will even argue that it was a good act

He's evil in my book. The rangers player might just be happy to be able to take humans as favored enemy from now on

 

[Abraxas]

This scenario brings up a few questions in my mind.

1. How did the ranger know these guards really were who they said they were and not lackeys of some BBEG posing as the guard to get him in a vulnerable position?

The guards approached him very politely, and in fact let him keep his sword while they accompanied him to the prison.

This seems almost too accommodating - I would be very suspicious as a player. In additon it sets up the slaughter the gaurds scenario nicely.

2. Once the ranger drew his sword I assume the guards stayed and fought, otherwise they probably would not have wound up dead. Why did the guards stay and fight? If they were really low level (comparatively) the DMs decision to stay and fight made their death almost unavoidable.

 

[Centaur]

Players do have a way of keeping us GMs on Our toes....I'm Sorry what did you say your character Does.....?

Having read through all the posts, I think the following would be an appropriate course of action.

-Contact a Cleric of Tyr to act as a moderator between the players and the City.
-Offer to pay for a raise dead for the Guards as well as some sort of compensation or offer some sort of compensation to their families that would be enough to cover a raise dead +50% each. Often times in medieval cultures it was possible to buy off the family of a murder victim (justified or otherwise). This way the family decides if they want him back or not (maybe you did an abused wife a favor).
-Arrange for a hearing outside of the city between the accusers and the party. This should not be a court case, just a hearing so the Cleric can see both sides and recommend a course of action.
-The players should try and prove their innocence if possible, although the DM may have had this mind all along from the sounds of things.

Consequences also:
-The Ranger may be in danger of moving his alignment towards Chaotic for his "Change of Mind". He may also need to prove that he was morally right to kill rather than subdue the gauds in order avoiding slipping towards evil.
-Of course, even if the guards trusted the Ranger, they still should have insisted on the surrender of his sword. Pretty stupid of them considering.

 

[Numion]

This scenario brings up a few questions in my mind.

1. How did the ranger know these guards really were who they said they were and not lackeys of some BBEG posing as the guard to get him in a vulnerable position?



This seems almost too accommodating - I would be very suspicious as a player. In additon it sets up the slaughter the gaurds scenario nicely.

2. Once the ranger drew his sword I assume the guards stayed and fought, otherwise they probably would not have wound up dead. Why did the guards stay and fight? If they were really low level (comparatively) the DMs decision to stay and fight made their death almost unavoidable.

Counterpoints:

1. So killing is warranted in all situations? Either everyone is clearly a lackey of BBEG, or one in disguise. With your logic you could kill anyone and still consider it a good act.

2. How did the guards know the rangers level, or even their own? Metagaming isn't any good even it is done by the DM. Your logic here might be more appropriate if the ranger had first threatened the guards, like "Let me go or I'll kill you." Instead he just pounced on them.

If a cop tries to arrest you in real world, you shoot him, would you then expect it to be the cops fault, since he was the one who didn't run away?